LeBron James and Draymond Green Are Already Battling for the NBA Sneaker Crown

The 2017-18 NBA season is officially underway. For LeBron James and Draymond Green, last night's kickoff was a chance to get back to work. It was also an opportunity to flex some rare-as-hell sneakers both on and off the court.

In LeBron's case, he walked through Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland prior to the game in a pair of Off-White x Nike Zoom Fly SP sneakers, a yet-to-be-released style from the highly-coveted collaboration between the Swoosh and Virgil Abloh. On the court, he sported yet another pair of custom Nike LeBron 15s, this time a pair with the word "Equality" embroidered into the heels. LBJ, who's been even more outspoken than usual on social issues of late, continued to promote a positive message with the black and gold kicks.

Draymond Green—never one to shy from attention—also wore Off-White x Nike sneakers on Tuesday night, but he did it on the court. In his defense, the Virgil-remixed Nike Hyperdunk style is technically a basketball sneaker, though we couldn't help but notice that Green switched into some non-Off White Hyperdunks at halftime. (Perhaps he didn't account for Off-White's ultra-lightweight translucent uppers.)

These three sneaker flexes (two for LeBron James, one for Draymond) have already set the stage for what's sure to be a wild NBA season in terms of style and sneakers. The pregame tunnel runway and postgame press conferences have always been a place for style swerves, but maybe this is the season on-court kicks, the sales of which have been fading in recent years, make a comeback. And though LeBron and Draymond are both Nike guys, it's only a matter of time before someone in the Adidas family shows up in a pair of Yeezy-designed basketball sneakers. Nick Young, we're looking at you.